1. Field of Invention
This invention generally relates to a vehicle simulation system, and particularly to a simulator for land vehicles which accurately simulates driving a vehicle in various weather conditions and which is capable of presenting virtually any type of traffic event to a user of the system.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
There are known systems which emulate vehicle operation. These known simulation systems, such as video arcade games and driver training simulators, fail to accurately simulate the operation of a vehicle in a wide variety of traffic and weather related conditions. As a result, users of these systems fail to adequately develop the skills necessary to become an experienced operator of a motor vehicle.
For example, a known system is Adams U.S. Pat. No. 5,131,848, which discloses a testing apparatus which records a user""s response to a series of threatening and non-threatening events appearing on a video screen.
Chen U.S. Pat. No. 5,180,347 discloses an exercise bicycle having a means for changing pedal resistance to correspond to a visual display.
Langlais U.S. Pat. No. 5,184,956 discloses a driver training device including display monitors for presenting a sequence of images which are responsive to testee input. The display monitors present both a forward and rear view of a simulated environment.
Mott U.S. Pat. No. 5,269,687 discloses a video game apparatus.
Copperman U.S. Pat. No. 5,366,376 and Gray 5,573,102 disclose a vehicle simulator having a means for projecting a sequence of visual images of a roadway system based upon manipulation of control devices for the simulated vehicle. The system also emulates driving in various atmospheric conditions.
Copperman U.S. Pat. No. 5,474,453 discloses a vehicle simulator having a means for programming a traffic scenario prior to a simulation session. This Copperman simulator, however, is restrictive in its capability to provide virtually any type of traffic condition or weather condition to the system user.
The above identified devices fail to disclose a vehicle simulator which accurately depicts the operation of a vehicle in various weather conditions, such as in snow, rain, fog or heavy wind, or a simulator which provides instructor-controlled traffic events and weather conditions on demand during the course of a simulation session.
The present invention overcomes the above-discussed limitations and shortcomings of known vehicle simulation systems and satisfies a significant need for a system which accurately depicts the operation of a land based vehicle under a wide variety of driving conditions.
According to the present invention, there is provided a system for simulating the operation of a vehicle, comprising video means for displaying a sequence of visual images; a plurality of control devices for the simulated vehicle for manipulation by a first user of the system, such as a driver testee; computing means, responsive to manipulation of the simulated vehicle control devices, for presenting a temporal sequence of visual images to the first system user on the video means which depicts operation of the simulated vehicle along a roadway in a simulated environment; and a means for creating and dynamically controlling one or more driving conditions during the course of a simulation session.
In use, a system user specifies during simulation setup the nature and extent of weather related conditions and general traffic behavior for a simulation session. During the simulation session, the computing means presents a temporal sequence of visual images on the video means to the first system user which depicts the first user travelling along a roadway in a simulated environment. The simulated environment is preferably populated with simulated objects, including other simulated vehicles, pedestrians, traffic lights, etc. The sequence of visual images is in accordance with the operation of the simulated vehicle input controls by the first user. As a result, the first user has substantially autonomous control over the operation of the simulated vehicle in the simulated environment.
At virtually any time throughout the simulation session, a second system user may define and present one or more driving conditions to the first system user using the driving condition creating means. Upon defining the desired condition, such as by selecting from a list of predetermined traffic events or weather conditions, the condition creating means incorporates the selected driving condition into the presentation of the simulated environment.
In the event a traffic event is selected, the traffic event is presented by the computing means in part by selecting an existing simulated object from the simulated environment or spawning a simulated object, and utilizing the selected/spawned object in the traffic event presentation. If a weather condition is selected or an existing weather condition is modified during the simulation session, the computing means preferably changes the visual presentation of the simulated environment, the audio presentation thereof, and the vehicle dynamics of the simulated vehicle. The changes in the visual presentation may include the depiction of falling precipitation and/or the reduction in visibility of objects appearing in the simulated environment.
In addition, changes in the vehicle dynamics of the simulated vehicle may include recalculating frictional and resistive forces as a function of the selected weather conditions.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle simulation system which accurately depicts the operation of a vehicle in any of a number of different driving conditions.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a system which accurately simulates vehicular operation in changing weather conditions, such as vehicular operation in snow, rain, ice, fog and/or heavy winds.
A further object of the present invention is to dynamically control the nature and extent of traffic and weather conditions occurring in a simulation session.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide such a vehicle simulation system in which an instructor may define and present a traffic event independently of the location of the simulated vehicle in the simulated environment.
Other objects, advantages, and salient features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, which, when taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, discloses preferred embodiments of the present invention.